A Heroine's Reward
by LeNimph
Summary: On their way home from hell Lara confronts her lingering thoughts from her experience on Yamatai. Including those related to her best friend Samantha, and the wonderfully close way she rewards her hero. LaraxSam fluff & oneshot.


_Ok so yeah, the Tomb Raider reboot was so good and sooooo subtext delicious it got me writing fanfiction again. ;P Enjoy, read, and review. I plan on writing more as well. _

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I see Sam staring at me from across the deck sitting with Reyes and Jonah. She smirks at me, but I quickly glance back to my field book. I haven't said anything to Sam since I carried her down from the monastery, her almost limp body leaning into me for support, security, and occasionally moaning out my name in relief. When I glanced down to check on her and she gave me a beautiful, tired smile of assurance back at me, I had never felt such satisfaction and contentment in my entire life. My footing was sure and strong, regardless of how tired my body was.

But part my mind was elsewhere.

I still couldn't believe what had happened, and the repercussions of it. My father was right about everything, and gloating from whatever afterlife he choose to watch me from, because god knows that's very much a possibility now for all I know. I dismissed him for years, thought him a fool, yet I had done exactly what I had resented of him, followed my instinct, and I have caused nothing but grief because of it. How many other mythological truths and dangers are out there? This couldn't have been an isolated occurrence and I had to find out the truth. But I wasn't going to bring anyone else into it again, and certainly not Sam, no matter how much she would say otherwise.

I contemplate on deck until the sun sets and I can see the Japanese coastline flickering like fireflies in the distance. It's evident we won't be docking today so I make my way to the bathroom to check on my wounds. I was checked and cleaned immediately when we got on deck by the doctor on board but I wanted to see for myself, double check. Nothing looks infected (by some sort of miracle) but I'll surely need medical attention when once we dock for confirmation of my health.

The Captain catches me as leave the restroom and tells me they can't dock till morning as I suspected and leads me to a room with two cots, one with Sam already dozing on top of.

"She insisted she share a room with you." He says.

"I would've too," I say under my breath before telling him thank you, shutting the steel door, and then propping myself up against it. I take a very long and deep breath as I look at her across the room. I find myself walking to her cot and sitting at its edge to gaze at her.

I've always found Sam stunning; at times I am more honest about this desire to myself then others but I suppress it, afraid that telling her she means the world to me will ruin the closeness we already have. Even though I know that's not how Sam would react as the worst case. I reach out with my right hand and place it over hers, watching her breath escape from her open pink lips, longing for more.

Really Lara, this is how I'm going to act after all of this? I'll climb mountains, kill, and literally swim in god knows what to save her but the idea of admitting these feelings to her still scares me stiff?

"I'm such an idiot," I sigh while I pull away to stand up and go to my bed until I feel a tug at my hand.

"Lara?"

"Sam," I respond. Her fingers interlace with mine while I sit back down on her cot. We're silent until I watch her smile at me and I ask, "Are you ok?"

"Never been better," she jokes while she sits herself up still holding my hand, "I think I should be the one asking that?"

"I'm ok and we're safe," I respond, squeezing her hand. We're both silent again. I'm waiting for Sam to talk, she's usually the one who always speaks first and carries our conversations. I've always admired that of her, she always seems to know what to say, always tries to be honest, even if it might blow back in her face. But it looked like even she was struggling to think of something to say. She ran her other hand across my arm, tracing my scars and scraps, and then gliding across to my waist and gently cupping me next to my puncture wound.

"I can't believe everything you've done Lara, you're incredible."

"I did what I had to do," I say looking away as she reached for my face. She gently grabbed my chin and turned my head back to face her and her mischievous smile that was getting closer and closer until her lips were pressed against my own.

I tensed, squeezed my hand against hers as my chapped lips fell into her soft ones. Sweet, soft, and short.

"The princess has to give her hero a kiss right?" She whispers at me while a drum echoes through my body from my chest and blood collects in my cheeks. I struggle to think of something to say but I can't .

"Yes," I mumble looking down at her hand still interlaced with mine.

"Oh, oh that was stupid of me wasn't it?" she says pulling her hand away.

"Well-" I mutter until she cuts me off.

"Really stupid, I mean, we're just friends," she says. I finally lift up my head to face her, no longer hiding my eyes in my bangs. She's looking away from me now and blushing.

She's embarrassed.

Still my heart feels like it wants to escape out of my chest, and I find it harder to breathe. Why did she kiss me? Was she really just trying to make a joke or does she… does she feel the same way I feel about her? But she's always been so touchy; this could have been just another one of her ways to express that, but she's embarrassed.

I take her hand into mine and she looks back at me. Her cute flushing face makes me smile and I feel that same feeling I felt when I was carrying her down from the monastery, that contentment and assurance. I know what to do.

I pull her to me and bring my lips to hers.

She eagerly reciprocates my kiss, I am just trying my best to mirror her movements and her tongue parting my lips while feel a strange pulse of both invigoration and weakness travel through my body.

And I'm numb when finally we part.

"Lara?" she asks with an eagerly with a smirk.

"Sam," I choke out, " I love you."

"I love you too." She smiles and rests her head against my shoulder.

And I feel like I would do all of Yamatai again to relive this moment.


End file.
